A Tense Situation
by Katsumadarkness
Summary: There was a mission and one of the Pilots is in a coma. Yet, he's able to watch everything that happens. Warnings inside: 2x5 3x4  **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys, unfortunately.

Authors Note: Okay, I know that I'm working on Redemption and Sacrifice, but I'm slowly running out of steam on that - the fic is just NOT behaving - so I'm going to take a short hiatus (Only a few days) and write another fic to see if I can jump start myself. :) Enjoy!

WARNINGS: Violence, 1x5 3x4, Swearing, fic rated for blood, gore and violent type stuff. Duo PoV.

//Radio Conversation/  
'Speach'

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I have always been comfortable with the dark of night. If you asked me why, I would probably give you a blank stare and do my best fish impression. I honestly don't know why I've always felt at home in it, it was almost like the moment the sun went down, I felt a warm and comfortable blanket be draped on my shoulders. I loved it, in fact, I would have spent all my waking moments in the dark if that hadn't meant quitting my job and becoming a vampire chicken. I kid you not, my skin is pale enough as it is, I would be chicken white, and be antisocial.. not my idea of sexually appealing.

Not that I had my mind on being sexually appealing, mind you. Well, I guess that's not quite correct, I would give my kidneys to have a certain someone notice. Then again, I was already more than happily paired with a dark haired, dark eyed man who would have even the men who carved those statues of greece drooling. You know the ones, those statues that are incredebly sexy, even after all these years and they're missing limbs? Yea, those guys.

//Eagle Eye in position.. Status.// Ahh... guess I'd better get back to work, neh? The voice came through a headpiece that I had attached to my ear, black with the rest of my clothing to hide my human shape in the darkness. The edges of my clothes, while I wasn't too keen on them, were a bit ragged as they broke up my solid shape in case someone looked my way. I sighed, moving up along the side of the building and making sure that I became its skin... well, not literally. I could hear a few other voices quietly calling their positions in my ear.

//Dragon, in Position. Clear.//

//Doc is in position, Clear here.//

//Nanashi, in position. All clear.//

//Trow-// This voice was softer than the others, and I recognized it instantly as Quatre, but noticed him deviating from the call names. Before I could mention it, Heero intervened.

//We could be bugged. Call names only, Altair. Status?// Again, he'd asked once already, but I guess he was just making sure I could hear. You know, I found myself wondering about Quatre's code name. We all picked our own, which was strange, but it was safer than having everyone know who we were. I mean, yea, the five of us plus Sally and Zechs knew EXACTLY who we were, but the other men and women didn't, so it helped to make this even more secure. Apparently, Quatre's code name meant some sort of bird in arabic. It suited him.

//Nalin in position. Clear.// If I didn't know Quatre as well as I did, I wouldn't have caught the quiet discontent in his tone. He'd wanted to say something bad enough that he'd forgotten why we weren't calling each other by our real names, but I don't have the slightest clue WHY.

//Wind clear and in position.// I rolled my eyes at that one, he was so unoriginal... but hey, I guess the God Of Death couldn't be all that original either... Then again, no one but the five of us knew I called myself Shinigami, so it works fine for these kinds of things. My usual handle is something involving 'Night' or 'Sparrow' or 'Falcon' or something like that. I reached my left hand up and pressed the button on the mic, queing it so I could speak my own greeting.

//Shinigami moving into position. You realize that preparing to climb through heating vents isn't easy, right? You have to give me a bit more credit than you guys, just relaxin' up there on the roof.// I smirked as I spoke, releasing the button and swinging the grappling hook from my shoulder before starting the slow circle it took to wind up and aim.

//Too much chatter. We are in radio silence until Shinigami is in position.// Heero was much too tense, but then again, he was the 'perfect soldier' despite the fact that we were all in Preventers and no longer piloting our gundams.. I could hear the other members of the teams claling their locations, some still getting set like I was. I ignored the voices in my head and concentrated on what I had to do. What? You didn't think that I could get serious? I swung the hook and grinned when it attached to the grate with a somewhat muffled 'thump'. Since I wasn't using it to hold onto something, I'd wrapped some black fabric around the metal tines to muffle the clang of metal on metal. Once it was hooked on the grate, I gave a good, hard yank. The grate, surprisingly, came flying right at me and I dodged to the side. That would have been so Laaaammme of a death - to die by grate.

I shook my head and wound my grappling hook before sliding it back into my belt. Hey, in my defense, I might need it later.. you can never tell with these types of missions. The grate got hidden in the b ushes next to the wall and I was testing the footing on the wall. It was my luck that this particular wall had a trellis of some sort on the side, or maybe it was just piping that was covered in vines. Whatever it was, it suited me JUST fine for climbing. Now, you may be wondering why I didn't just climb it in the first place and remove the grate up there? Well, let me tell you, the grate was fifteen feet off the ground, and dropping that thing could have worked, but then, I'd have to deal with finding it in the dark.. ehh, who am I kidding, I just love throwing that grappling hook.

I made it to the vent in one, maybe two seconds flat and sighed when I realized how small the opening REALLY was. I reached up and touched my headpiece, even though I knew Heero had called for radio silence.

//Shinigami en route. ETA 10.// I didn't bother waiting for a confirmation, I knew there wouldn't be one. The tunnel was a tight squeeze, and the most I could manage was a slow scoot, not even a military crawl, it was that tight. I could hear my gear scraping the sides of the tin can so I had to slow down even more so no one would hear it as continually. By the time I was probably 3 minutes into my crawl, I was drenched in sweat. Like I'd said before, I was using the heating vents to get in and get to my position. Why they had the heat on in the dead of July, I'll never understand.

Finally! Fresh, COOl air. I sighed and took a few deep breathes before continueing on down the shaft. From the map I'd studied and memorized, there should be a... Aha! there it was. I held my breath while I used a small screwedriver from one of my many pockets to loosen the screws. That finished, I put each of the little metal bits into a fur lined pocked of my belt - the fur kept the rattling sound to a minimum. According to my watch, a patrol should be moving below me any minute. Instead of removing the grate and trying to find a hiding place, I waited knowing it'd be much safer once they left.

The three guards walked beneath me, then on with their rounds. From the information that we had, they would be taking a different route back, and I should have PLENTY of time to find the hostages and report their location. I lifted the grate and dropped silently to the ground. From where I crouched, I could see a huddled shape in the window to my left, hanging on what appeared to be a tightline. The next thing I knew, I heard a crackling in my ear.

//Shinigami, this is Broker - I have visual confirmation on you.// That's nice.. now you see me, now you don't! I grinned one of my patent 'I'm gonna kill someone if it's the last thing I do' grins and dissapeared into a hall. By them noting visual contact on me, Heero and the others who were mentally following my progress could get the timing right. I moved through the halls, reaching back and unlimbering my weapon before clicking the safety off. I have to admit, I am a bit of an adrenaline junky at times, these sneaky type missions always kicked me into high gear. It was strange, to have to make SURE I became visible for the spotters and other agents to call out my location - Normally, I'd just hide as well as I could.

I crouched next to one of the rooms that had the best chance of having the hostages. I turned the safety back on my gun and let it slide around my shoulder before pulling out a small wire tube from another pocket. This had a view screen on the hand held end, and a small joystick to control the movements. I loved this little gadget as it reminded me so much of snakes. I set it down and guided the thing under the door and along the wall, bringing it's little 'head' up and scanning slowly. Nope, none in this room. I pulled the line back and held onto it as I crept to the next room. Once again, I slid it under the door and took a peek around. There we go, there were three women in this room; tied and gagged with two armed men watching them. Well, I'd found three of the eight who were hostages, now .. where were the rest?

My little snake buddy came back to me and I found the hairs on the back of my head standing on end. I reached for my gun but I was too slow to bring it around to the front and take the safety off. The bullet from the man behind me hit the kevlar vest and stopped. Id' have a colorful bruise on my shoulder in the morning..

//Shots fired!// The scream was loud in my ear, one of the rookies had heard the shot and was panicking. I spun with the bullet and brought my weapon around, pulling the trigger as I went. I ducked behind a corner and drew another clip from my vest, grinning rather meniacally. 'Come and get me, fuckers! Say hello to the God of Death!' I stepped from around the corner and began firing, noting the other two men from the conference room stepping into the hall. A small round canister rolled my way and started spewing pink smoke. Sonofabitch. I turned tail and ran, holding my sleeve up over my mouth and nose. I ducked into a supply closet and panted, stiffling the coughs in my shit. I could hear Heero and Wufei asking for status, and checking if anyone had a visual on me.

//I love kevlar..//

//Status!// I grinned, knowing Wufei was trying to keep calm and callous, but he was worreid.

//Nada. They got a lucky shot to my right shoulder, but it was stopped by the vest. Worst I'll have is a colorful bruise.//

//Hostages?//

//Three of the women in the second conference room - I'll check the others once the hall clears.// I sighed, biting my lip as I heard a grunt from Wufei - He and Heero had mics that weren't push-to-talk. They were the operation leaders, and I could hear everything they said as could everyone else. [i]Stay strong, 'Fei, I'll be out before you know it...[/i] It was easy to put myself in his shoes as I had been in them before when we were on missions. That's why Wufei was partnered with Heero and I was on my lonesome. Une didn't seem to like couples being together as partners.

Once the footsteps receeded I stepped out of my closet and checked back and forth before heading the women on the stairwell leading down. This was just getting better and better... I croped forward, this time making sure the safety on my gun was *off* and I had it in hand. There were probably fifteen, sixteen steps and they took FOREVER to creep down. Even knowing this mission was hinging on my stealth, it was STILL damn slow going. The stairwell was pitch black, like most of the hallways had been in the building. I moved forward by moving a foot down, testing my weight, then moving down with the next foot. Once I reached the flat surface, I slid up against the wall and moved towards a small glow of light.

There they were, all of the hostages were huddled together in .. a cage? how original.. I sighed internally, knowing that there was no easy way from outside into here - the guys weren't going to be coming in for backup very fast if I ran into trouble. I loved moments like this, these are the moments that I lived for, to be perfectly honest. I hit my comm and whispered VERY quietly into the mic.

//Hostages all accounted for in the basement... No windows or entrances other than the door I came through - I count fifteen armed men and women, each wearing a red armband as our resistance was decribed wearing..// I wasn't sure if they got all of that, but was almost relieved when Heero's voice came through next, speaking to everyone.

//Move in on my command. We secure the first and second floors and moved towards the basement. Shinigami sit tight until we give the signal.//

//Gotcha.// Now for my .. least favorite part. Waiting. I fidgeted, but kept my gun at the ready. I was fortunate that the basement here seemed to be unfinished, with the furnace, support poles and such things. I was able to easily melt into the shadows of the furnace, and have a wonderful view of the people sharing the room with me. What I *hadn't* counted on was the dogs. This huge mutt, must have been the size of a horse started snuffing towards me and then started growling. I reached back and unlatched my machette to hold in my left hand. A gunshot would be too loud, but if I could dispatch the dog in silence.. No such luck. He alarmed with a round of barks and jumped at me. I took my chances and we had a fight there on the floor. I could feel his teeth sinking into my shoulder where the Kevlar wasn't quite covering that junction between neck and shoulder.

Needless to say, the dog stopped fighting me, but the men were firing blindly into the dark where I was at. Unfortunately, Kevlar doesn't cover your legs or arms. The first bullet to actually HIT me was lucky, it went through the meaty part of my thigh, but I was still blleding. THis is the part I hated, they knew I was in the shadows and someone went to turn on the lights to the basement.

//Soldier Down - mission comprimised, pull out!//

I ripped off my comm unit and stepped on it, grinding the mic to dust - I would NOT have them finding out where Heero and the others were. They didn't have any REASON to listen to me, but hopefully, they'd sit back and think of a new strategy. I moved, running out into the main part of the room and firing my gun as I put the hostages between myself and the rest of the idtios. My Machette sliced through the nearest bonds and I handed it to him, still firing at the men. 'Cut them loose. NOW!' I didn't know how long these people would refreain from firing while I was right with the.. aha, there we go. This shot was high caliber, from a rifle and tore right through my vest, anding in my side. That was gonna leave a mark. I dropped to one knee, pulling a canister from my vest and holding it in my teeth as I dropped my clip, reloaded and brought up my other hand gun.

'COVER YOUR EYES!'

I tossed the canister up awkwardly and shot it with the handgun. Sparks and light flew EVERYWHERE. The thing was originally a flashbang, but I wanted it to go off in the air, not the ground. Everyone was thrown to the ground, and I was half blind. Damn, shoulda thought of that before hand. I could hear the hostages behind me running, so I got up and forced myself to move with them. I could see blurry shapes, and turned, firing back into the midst of the resistance members still standing. Then, a welcome sound.

'Preventers! Freeze!'

I never thought I would have been happy to hear THAT cliche excuse. I ducked around the corner of the stairwell and hid from the bullets as I made sure the last of the hostages was at the top of the stairs. I stepped out and took a few shots, then ducked back behind the stairway again. I could see Heero and Wufei at the top of the steps, and could hear Quatre and Trowa's voices as they assisted the senaters out of the building and into more Preventer hands outside. The next time I took a step around, I felt a bullet graze my head and then a strong pair of arms was hauling me back up the steps. The gunfight was still going on in the basement, so I assumed another preventer had taken up handling it.

I was at the top of the steps before I realized that it was Wufei that had hauled me upstairs. He grabbed my shoulders and kissed me, in front of god and everybody. And sue me, I loved it. I grabbed him just as frantically and returned that kiss for all I was worth. We both pulled away when Sally coughed and stepped in. It was then that I realized I was dizzy and frowned when Wufei's face swam in front of me.

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	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys, unfortunately.

Authors Note: Okay, I know that I'm working on Redemption and Sacrifice, but I'm slowly running out of steam on that - the fic is just NOT behaving - so I'm going to take a short hiatus (Only a few days) and write this fic to 'recharge' my batteries ^_^

WARNINGS: Violence, 1x5 3x4, Swearing, fic rated for blood, gore and violent type stuff. Duo POV. Also an interesting flip flop of events.. but I'm not sure how I like it.

Computer Chat  
'Speach'

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There's one thing I have to say about hospitals. I HATE THEM! The moment I woke up, I instantly knew where I was. I mean, honestly, how people can stand being in one in their waking hours I don't know. They're full of the sick, the dying and those that have been given up on by their families. It made my teeth ache, thinking about all of the people left in these places, abandoned by everyone they knew and dying. There's more than one reason why I hate hospitals, but that's just the beginning. Anyway, let's continue, shall we? I can lie here musing all day, or I can find out what's wrong with me, and why I'm lying down to begin with. Let's see... by keeping to my training from the War, I was able to make sure that my breathing and heartrate stayed steady while I checked if I was in one piece.

Wiggle the toes, there they are. Fingers? Yep, all there. I don't really feel much pain, but I know I'm injured because after cracking one eye, I can see the tubes all around me. Yep, what a predicament. Let's see, where are we...I glanced around and instantly froze. The other four of our small group were standing surrounding a woman with a clipboard. Tey were all here? I strained to hear what they were saying, frowning at the implications.

'You should have SOME kind of extra information?' Ahh, good ol' Quatre, straight to the point. You know, I think that kid could talk the spines off of a cactus if he was ever given the chance. Why, was his voice shaking though?

'We have opperated and closed most of the wounds, as you know - but I will let you four know...' The woman had stopped and I wondered why she was so upset. 'He may never wake up, the bullet that grazed his temple seemed to have put him into a coma before he was brought in.' That, I almost laughed at - Not awake? Really now, I was more than awake. I sat up in the bed and wondered that none of my muscles were stiff. Whatever pain killers they had me on were first rate, it was amazing and I didn't feel a thing! Wait a minute...I looked up at Wufei and noticed his back to me.

I know I couldn't speak, because there was a ..tube? down my throat? Interesting.. I guess I wasn't breathing correctly before.. Allright, well we'll just... What?! I had turned so I could settle into the bed comfortabley when they turned and noticed something that shook me to my core. I was sitting up.. and ALSO lying there.. What the hell? Okay, now I'm seriously freaked out. I carefully removed the IV's from my arms and gagged as the tube came out.. Allright We're in business, sort of.

I hopped off the bed and frowned - I *know* I'd gotten hit in the thigh with a bullet, but I couldn't feel even a remote sense of muscle fatigue. Ooookay then. I moved to where the other four were and rested a hand on Wufei's shoulder and frowned. It was skinner than I had remembered, and his hair wasn't in its customary ponytail. In fact, it looked like he hadn't washed or brushed it in some time. I looked back to the figure on the bed - me and then back to the rest of my friends. They finished their conversation with the doctor and Wufei turned, heading back to a chair I'd not noticed before.

'Guys!! Guys!! Hey! I'm right here! Hallooooo!!' I waved my arms frantically in front of Wufei, then Heero, Trowa and lastly, Quatre. None of them seemed to notice me. What the HELL was going on here?!

'Duo...' I whipped around at Wufei's call, grinning and wandering over to him.

'Oy, 'Fei.. looks like you-' I broke off when he grabbed the figure on the bed... err my hand and held it. The chinese man was as stoic as they come, but I know it's a facade - his business face. Even though the rest of the pilots know of our relationship, he's never shown much affection in public. Yet, here he was, not only holding my hand but leaning down and kissing my head. Why can I not feel this?!?! I growl, clenching my fists and walk over, swinging my arm through my prone body. 'Come on you bastard!! Wake UP!' The beeps and whirls of the machines keeping me alive stayed just as steady as ever. I sighed, flopping down in a spair chair, watching my friends and trying to figure out what to do.

Quatre was curled into Trowa's side, his eyes closed, but a look of pain on his face. Heero was sitting at a table, that thrice damned laptop in front of him. . Jeez, did he never get off of that thing? The sound of Wufei talking made me look at him again.

'Duo.. why won't you wake up? You're a Gundam Pilot for god's sake! We've all had worse than this and survived! Yuy blew himself up and still survived!' I winced at the anguish in his voice, but knew that no one else heard it - all they heard was his anger. 'This is rediculous! You're just faking it and will wake up laughing at us at ANY moment!' He grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me as hard as he could. 'Wake UP Duo!' I moved forward to rest a hand on his shoulder just as Heero grabbed him around the waist, and Trowa with Quatre each grabbed an arm.

'Wufei! calm down! Duo's in a coma, he can't hear us!'

'Well, technically, Heero... That Doctor said he could hear us..' Quatre's voice was soft and I instantly knew that Wufei would be in good hands. I walked over to the blonde and rested a hand on hsi shoulder. 'Please, Cat.. take care of him? He's not sleeping or eating.. get him home and make him rest..' I sighed, pulling my hand away as Quatre moved to stand in front of my errant lover. 'Come home with us, Wufei, you need a meal and rest.'

'I won't leave him!' I would have hugged the man if he could have felt it. 'Duo was always there for us, who are we to abandon him?!'

'I'll stay with him, now go home and get some REST Wufei. You are no use to me or any of us in this state. We still have a job to do, if you remember?' Heero, the callous bastard.. Then again, it got Wufei to stop struggling in Quatre and Trowa's grasp and nod. Once he'd conceeded, I watched those two march him out of the room. Heero sighed, closing the door behind them and moving to the side of the bed. I was surprised to see him reach down and gently brush the hair away from the mans - ack my face. 'You had better wake up, Baka... It's rediculous to see Wufei in this state.' He then turned and returned to that laptop of his.

What the hell?! I grumbled, throwing myself on the couch in the room, they appeared to have moved me to a large private suite. Courtesy of Quatre, I'd imagine. I took the time to take a good look at myself from an outside point of view. How long had I been asleep? The bullet graze on my temple was near healed, and a quick glance showed the dogbite on my neck and shoulder on the mend as well. That doesn't happen in a matter of a few hours. This was getting more and more peculiar as time went on.

Okay, so I was more than a little confused, and it was pissing me off. I walked out of the room, turning my back on my prone body lying on the bed and left the hospital. Have I said that I hate hopsitals? If not, I hate them.. I loathe them with a passion.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- A few hours later x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I wandered down the street towards a bistro I'd eaten at before. I couldn't see Quatre, Trowa or Wufei, and could only hope they took him home like Cat had said he would. I walked into the Bistro, wondering why I could open the door and not have people staring at it.. Oh well. I took a seat at one of the computer terminals there and booted it up.

Well that was interested, I could interact with normal, every day objects.. I reached out to pick up a bit of trash on the computer and frowned when my hand passed right through it. What? I looked in the mirror behind me to see if I could see myself, but no one was there - and the computer terminal was black. I turned to look at my own computer and frowned, it was anything but black. While the computer ran through it's sequence, I turned to look at the mirror again and was more than confused to see this transpiring of events.

Ah well, It seemed I could touch the computer, so I was gonna have my evil way. I logged onto our secured message site and signed in. While I waited for it to load, I leaned back in the chair and stared up at the cieling. Why was this happening to me? I was fully dressed in my black outfit, but the body on the bed was in hospital gowns.. I couldn't understand. The computer chimed to alert me to a new message and I glanced at it. Good ol' Heero must have been signed in.

H.Y. Says: How did you get this address? Right to the point. Sometimes, I could adore that single mindedness of his.

D.M. Says: Logged in with my username and password.

H.Y. Says: How did you get this address? Ahh.. That's right, he wouldn't know it was really me - I was supposed to be in a coma, got it.

D.M. Says: Well, you see. I got bored of lying flat on my back and decided to get up and take a walk. Yup! The ping of another username signing in got my attention and I checked, grinning when I saw it was Quatre. He sent me a message just as Heero had sent a response.

Q.W. Says: How did you get this information to log in with?

H.Y. Says: You have been discovered to have secured information. You are being traced and will be arrested. I sighed, dropping my head to my hands. I could just imagine them all sitting at the hopsital with tracing equipment and computers set up. I had to laugh and shake my head. That was just like them. I decided to ignore Heero for now and ocncentrate on Quatre, he would be the most receptive..

D.M. Says: Hey, Cat. Tell Heero to get off that damn laptop, would ya? He'll get artheritis at the age of twenty. There was an abnormally long pause before he answered me.

Q.W. Says: Are you in the hospital? Your IP traces back here. We will find you... Just as I was about to answer, I stopped - wait.. what? I was at the bistro across town...

D.M. says: No, Q-Man. I'm not. I'm hanging at this snazzy food joint. I don't know why it would lead back to the Hostpital.

Q.W. Says: How do you know the names that Duo called us?

D.M. Says: I dunno, maybe because I *AM* Duo?! By the way, how is 'Fei? I couldn't help asking about it - how was he holding up? I sighed, resting my head on my arms and waited.

Q.W. Says: What food joint?

D.M. Says: You know that little corner bistro where we all went once for sandwiches during work?

Q.W. Says: The one near the South side of town? 'Lil' Sarahs' or something?

D.M. Says: Yep! That's the one! why? Gonna send Trowa to arrest me?

Q.W. Says: No, I'm coming to see you. Stay there. Then he signed off. How.. odd.. Okkay. Well, I guess I'll just sit tight until Q gets here. I hated waiting. So I entertained myself with images of 'Fei and Heero in different outfist and settings. It was rather entertaining.

Before I knew it, Quatre was walking in the door, looking around. He had a laptop in his hands and sat down at one of the tables to sign in. Once he'd signed back in, I sent him a message.

D.M. Says: YOu look good, Cat. You should wear Jeans more often. I looked up and watched him look around the room in shock before getting his message.

Q.W. Says: ARe you in here?

D.M. Says: Yea, by the big mirror across from you... I was beginning to feel uneasy - what if they wouldn't ever be able to see me?

Q.W. Says: I can't see you..

D.M. Says: I wonder if I'm really here, Cat. When I turn around, I don't see my reflection, and the compouter screen is dark - but I'm talking to you. How long have I been in a coma?

Q.W. Says: About a week... Duo, is that really you? I watched him look around, those blue eyes searching the people int he restaraunt.

D.M. Says: Yea... Yea it is. If you don't trust me, maybe you can ask a question to prove it?

Q.W. Says: It's allright - I believe you. Duo, Why don't you wake up? Wufei is worried. We all are.

D.M. Says: I know.. I would if I could, but I can't seem to do it. Hey.. I'm living right? I can talk to you guys.

Q.W. Says: It's not the same and you know it, Duo! I sighed, shaking my head and standing, getting ready to turn off the terminal.

Q.W. Says: Here, let's go back home... He stood, closing his laptop. Who was I to argue? So I followed him. Quatre kept turning around and looking back, making me grin. I guess he was trying to see where I was. He led us to his car, and left the passenger side open. I climbed in and frowned, knowing I couldn't close the door.

'You all in, there Duo? I'm gonna lean across you and close the door.' And he did. It was strange, and I wondered if Cat thought he was being crazy by speaking out loud to an empty car. Who knows, maybe he could see me, but I doubted it. We drove in silence, listening to the radio. I had this insane urge to jump in front of the car and see if it would go through me.. I guess since I was sitting in it, it would hit me.

To my surprise, we were driving to Quatre's house instead of the hospital. That was the strange part - because I thought he would take me to the hospital again. We pulled up to the front of the house and he got out, opening my door. I stepped out and moved away, realizing that his eyes were searching the car and everything around it. He held the door open an impossibly long time before turning and closing it.

'Come on, Duo. We're home.' Home, I liked that word - even though I couldn't be seen.. I could still be home and that wamred me. I stepped up the front steps with Quatre, looking around and seeing Wufei, Heero, and Trowa all in the entrance hallway. What? Behind them were other people, people who I've not seen in many, long years. Solo, Sister Helen, Father Maxwell - - - Were we dead? I stopped in the doorway, looking at all these people in front of me. I noticed the groups spreading out, my friends and family from the past moving into the Library of Quatre's estate. My Four friends, including my lover, all moved into the door that lead to the gardens without a word. It left me standing on the threshhold of the hall, looking at the two doors. What do I do now?

-x-x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x-x-

Author's Note: I kinda liked this idea, that he was able to communicate with his friends while being comatose. This will all be explained in the next chapter. :) Until then, enjoy guys... :D Please Review? I enjoy reading them, even if you don't like the story and tell me as much.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys, unfortunately.

Authors Note: Okay, I know that I'm working on Redemption and Sacrifice, but I'm slowly running out of steam on that - the fic is just NOT behaving - so I'm going to take a short hiatus (Only a little while) and write this fic to 'recharge' my batteries ^_^

WARNINGS: Violence, 2x5 3x4, Swearing, fic rated for blood, gore and violent type stuff. Duo POV. Also an interesting flip flop of events.. but I'm not sure how I like it.

Computer Chat 'Speach'

AN: Also, 'Headstrong' by Trapt SEVERLY influenced this chapter... So it might be a bit on the violent side... :D

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No one was ever going to believe this... Here I was, standing in the hall of one of Quatre Winners' many estates, looking like a fish out of water. I mean, really.. I had just seen people that I *know* are dead walk into a room, and then members of my current life walk into another. Not to mention that little fact that no one could seem to see me, and I could talk on a computer. This is just one wierd dream - I'm gonna blame it on something I ate last night... Yea.. that's what I'll blame it on.

What DID I eat last night? I ... can't remember. Oh well...If someone had asked me a month ago, even a week ago that I would be standing here trying to make this decision, I would have laughed in their face. However, being here, I was forced to make a decision. I mean, technically, I don't have to do a damn thing, I could just turn and walk back out of the door, but where would that put me?

I sighed, pulling my braid around over my shoulder and flipping the tail end between my fingers while I thought it over. I leaned against the wall, noting that each of the two doors were cracked open invitingly. There was also light beneath each one. I couldn't help the growl that escaped my throat as I pushed off the wall and walked towards the first door in my path: the library.

The handle was warm to the touch, and it was almost...strange. I pushed the door open a little bit and peeked in without stepping over the line of the two rooms. Solo was leaning against the wall looking cocky, and grinning at me like he'd never died.

'C'mon Duo! We've got things ta do! People ta see!' That voice, it was so warm and so much like I remembered it being - gruff, but soft at the same time. I looked away from Solo with difficulty and over to the rest of the people in the room. Sister Helen was sitting in one of the chairs, her hands resting relaxed in her lap with a rosary winding between her fingers. She looked up and smiled at me, but that was all she did. That smile was the same one I remember her having while she braided my hair all those years ago. Without realizing it, I must have touched my braid, because it was in my hand all of a sudden. Oh, how I longed to have her brushing it and braiding it again.

Father Maxwell was standing with his back to me, facing a cheerfully crackling fire. I stared at that all-too-familiar back and sighed, opening my mouth to call out to him. It was his voice that startled me out of saying anything.

'Think carefully, my Son. You're young, no need to chase after old codgers like ourselves.'

'Speak for yerself, old man!' I couldn't believe it, the people of my past were...arguing with one another. They HAD to be real, didn't they? I froze as one of the small girls who had died to The Plague walked up to me. A bedraggled bear dangled from her chubby hand, and her eyes were black, like Wufei's. She had her thumb in her mouth as she walked up to the open door, but stopped before the light ended. Wait.. Why hadn't I noticed tat before? The light of the room ended at the doorway, leaving the hall dark - what the...

'You comin' back wif us, Duo? We can pway with the kitties behind the trash again..' I felt my knees buckling and let them drop me to the floor. Susan, she shouldn't have died - she'd been one of the members of my gang before Father Maxwell - one of the first to die to the plague. I reached out to her and froze, seeing my hands as if they were those of a child. It was strange to say the least. I pulled my arms back as if they'd been burned and turned them to see both the top and palms - they were normal. I stuck my hands back into the room and pushed farther to touch Susan. Again, they were those of a child, but this time, I FELT her shoulders, felt the patched cloth covering them.

I was concentrating so hard on that feeling that I didn't realize Father Maxwell had moved until he put his calloused palm on my hands. 'Son, you can't stay here.' He was knealing, and I found myself looking up into this baby blue eyes like I had once done. I glanced back to my hands where they were held in his, his large bear paws, holding my tiny hands. The hands of a six year old.

'But...'

'Listen to me. You come through that door, you will stay with us, but you will leave them.' I looked up as he pointed in a vague direction behind me towards the other Pilots. 'Do you want that? You won't remember anything.'

'What do you mean?' I tightened my fists in his paws, pulling back a little only to have him lock those fingers around my wrists and hold me there.

'I mean just what I say. If you come here, you will stay with us, but it will be as if you had never grown up - you would live your life here with us as a child and grow up here. You would grow up here as if the Plague had never happened - as if you had never lost your friends. You would live at the Church with Sister Helen and myself. You would have your friends, Solo, and the others. It would be as if nothing had ever happened, and you would remember none of it.'

I felt my mind whirring at the speed of my gundam with thoughts that I couldn't even begin to put into order. It was so very tempting, I mean, I've always fantasized about being able to stay with Solo and the others. Never having had the church burn to the ground, wondering what would have happened if we could have all grown up. I felt things slowly begin to click into place as my imagination kicked into high gear. I was watching the scenarios flash by as if I weren't even in them.

Running around and chasing Solo through the back yards of the Church. Reading with Sister Helen beneath the single, small tree that was also in the back of the Church. Sitting up late and listening to Solo tell horror stories with a light held up to his face. Laughing when we were being chased by Sister Helen with a broom for sneaking some Pastries from the kitchens. Laughing and doing repairs on my Gundam, grinning at something Wufei said from Shenlon's shoulder. I frowned when those thoughts came to a crashing, screeching halt - Wufei.

Did I really want to give it all up? I could give up all my suffering, the painful memories in a heartbeat. But, Wufei, Heero, Quatre, and even Trowa - they were all my friends. I knew that they could win the war without me. Doctor G could always find a new pilot for Deathsythe, but I didn't WANT to leave them. I knew that they would have a better chance of winning the war if I also fought with them. I looked back to Father Maxwell, not sure what to do, where to turn, or even what set of 'memories' I wanted the most.

I saw another hand rest on Father Maxwell's shoulder and looked up to see Solo grinning over his head. 'Kid, s'much as I want ya ta be here with me, I think ya should go back ta yer friends. 'sides, ya got a war ta fight.' Solo turned, waving his hand as if waving off an argument. 'Go, kid. We'll be here when yer really ready.' I smiled at him, feeling the tears down my cheeks and looking at Father Maxwell and his smile. I let my eyes slide past him and to Sister Helen, who wore a matching smile and was waving me on in a 'shooing' gesture. I could see Solo rounding the kids up and pushing them to a corner. 'Move it ya terrors... Our bro'll be back when he's good n' ready.'

I smiled, I couldn't help it. Father Maxwell stood, and brought me up with him. Once I was standing, he let my hands drop to my sides. 'We'll see you when you're ready, son.'

I couldn't look him in the eye, not while I was crying. 'Thank you, Father.' I bowed my head and crossed myself, then gave him one of my shit eating grins and spun, leaving my braid to swing in an arc behind me as I ran down the hall.. I felt free, surprisingly. I could hear the door behind me click shut, and I knew that if I opened it again, it would be dark behind it. I raced with all my might through the Garden door and stepped more than happily into the light beyond it. I grinned, knowing that my friends wouldn't be getting rid of me in a long time.

'Shinigami is back and he's ready to kick some ASS!' I crowed as I ran at the four friends, with Wufei front and center. I didn't have time to realize that they were also surrounded by people in *my* life. Lady Une, Noin, Sally, Zechs, Relena, Catherine, Dorothy, the Maguinacs, and other nameless people. This was the life I belonged to.

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AN: There! It's finished. :) I'm happy with the way it came out.. to be honest. I think that it needs something at te end, but it can also be interpretted as finished this way to. My artistic side came out and gave me an ending picture for this.. lol. Duo spinning around on one foot with the other lifted up high as he started a run, his braid slinging out in an arc behind him. Then those little, 'freeze frame' slashes on it that you get like, in Yu Yu Hakusho where the peopel are sitting on the steps and stuff.. lol. Yea, I'm weird.. xD So.. what do you guys think? Do you want me to write more and add an Epilogue, or leave it as is? 


	4. Epilogue

Author's Note: Kay guys, you asked for it, and now you're gonna be getting just what you wanted! :D I would *LOVE* to send a HUGE thank you to mah new Beta reader, Q. :D Yes, it is just one letter. ;) Mysterious, no? Let's hope this Epilogue clears up the endings of 'A Tense Situation'. Enjoy and on with the warnings!

WARNINGS: Violence, 1x5 3x4, Swearing, fluff, fic rated for blood, gore and violent type stuff. Duo PoV.

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Some people think that there are things on the other side, love, warmth, family..and end to suffering, and you know, I am one of them. But, I don't think that the other side is the be all end all of the life we pitiful humans live here on Earth. Ya know what I mean? I was given the rare honor of actually choosing my fate, and where I would go, when I went into a coma after a Preventers mission, I had the choice to either take the step back to my past, or go forward with my living family. Does it take a genius to know what someone would choose in that kind of a situation?

Granted, some people who have been through war, a bloody and violet one at that would most likely choose the end of peace, and the chance to forget the things that they had done. I am certainly one of those that wish I could take the easy route out of things. But, I have family here.. I at least four that I call my immediate family.. a lover, and multitudes of friends with them. Why would I leave that behind and not atone for my sins? That's not to say that I haven't already atoned, but I didn't want to abandon the people here, and the job that I took up after the war, protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.

I shot through the hallway and through the garden door, a grin on my face and my heart lighter than it had been in years. I knew that what I was choosing was the right thing, and even Father Maxwell, Sister Helen and Solo agreed with my choice. They'd even prompted me to it! I reached the open door to the garden and stopped, standing just shy of the threshold, staring at those gathered people, the embodiment of everything that mattered in my life. I reached up reflexively and grabbed the gold cross hanging around my neck, closing my fingers gently around it. 'Gotta take things one step at a time, right, Father?' I closed my eyes, unable to shake the feeling that he was smiling at me, and it comforted me as I took a breath and that step across the threshold of the garden, into the light and out of the shadow of the hallway.

The people standing in the garden came in to clearer focus, and I had to blink and adjust my eyes to the change of light. It felt like I had really stepped out into the sunlight, and could now see the people moving around, instead of the photo quality they'd had before. I froze, letting myself adjust and listened to the sounds around me, the birds, the rustling bushes, and a god send of a voice that jerked my head up. I saw Wufei standing there in front of everyone, his feet shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing those white pants and a dark red tank top, his eyes closed as he seemed to be meditating. Heero was standing to his left, a hand on his shoulder, Trowa on his right a hand on his other shoulder. Quatre stood slightly in front of Trowa who had his free arm around Quatre's shoulder, and then I saw Wufei opening his eyes and lifting his head that had previously been looking towards his feet. 'Hey, Duo... When are you going to come home?' That was just about it, I laughed, grinning at the four pilots and raced towards them. I could see Une, Sally, Relena and Dorothy directly behind my four family members, and behind them, even more people. Had I really been this loved?

When I got within a few feet of them, Wufei unfolded his arms and stretched his hand out to me, and I gladly took it in mine. That simple grip along with my momentum brought me into the planed chest I knew so well. I pressed my face into Wufeis' shoulder and hugged the man for all I was worth, and shortly after, I felt his arms respond in kind. A few moments of this and I felt more arms and lifted my head, beaming at the other three pilots, Heero, Trowa and Quatre as they, too joined the welcoming hug. 'Welcome home, Duo...' I opened my mouth to respond and found that I couldn't talk, that it was hard to talk. I frowned at the muzzy feeling in my throat and reached up to try and remove whatever it was that was causing the irritation. Or, I tried to. I found that my hand wasn't really cooperating, and that it didn't want to move, other than a twitch. I forced myself to lie still a moment and take stock of my surroundings, and try to figure out what the hell was going on now. There was a telltale beeping that told me that I was the one place I *DIDN'T* want to be. However, that *ALSO* told me something else.. I was back! I cracked an eye open and had to blink it a few times to get used to the light.

Despite the fact that the light was dim, and there was a faint glow from behind the curtains of my room, it still hurt. I gave myself some time to get used to the feeling before prying my second eye open and staring up at the ceiling. Yep..It's a ceiling. I mentally smirked to myself and forced my tired eyes to look around. I had an IV in my arm, and I followed the line up to the bag, but couldn't see the writing from this angle. Judging by the muted sounds in the hallway, and the soft, but dark glow outside my window, I had to guess it was somewhere around two or three am. I pulled my eyes from the window and blinked at the couch in my room, wondering why the hell there was a couch in my room, and more importantly... Why Trowa and Quatre were curled up on it like a pair of puppies! I would have chuckled it I hadn't had a damn tube in my throat, but instead, I just laughed mentally and continued my examination of the room. Heero was sitting at the table Id' seen him at before, but instead of being alert and typing, he was slumped over the table, his hands on the keyboard of the laptop, and someone, most likely Quatre had draped a blanket over his shoulders.

My eyes roamed, searching for the next pilot, the one that was missing, but my panic rose when I didn't see him. I had to check one more time before I was sure he wasn't there.. Where was Wufei? There was only one thing in my head - Find Wufei. I concentrated on decreasing my heart rate so that the machines didn't bring the nurses running, as I didn't want to disturb my other brothers. Once it was back to a more manageable level, I tried to lift my hand, and finding it was more responsive, carefully removed the tube from my throat. Id' done this a few times in the war, and knew that if I stayed absolutely still, I wouldn't have to worry about it causing any extra damage. Once that was done, I started on the machines attached to me.. There were only so many you could remove before the nurses came running, but I knew enough from watching Sally and Trowa during the war that I could fiddle with them... there we go! Just like so. I had had to force my legs over the edge of the bed in order to reach the heart monitor, but that was okay, because I intended to get up and walk anyway. God, had my muscles atrophied, it felt like I was moving through freaking tar!

The silence that filled the air was nearly deafening, but I guess it was more so to the other three as they immediately came to wakefulness. Heero woke up just in time to catch me as my legs gave out from under me, with my forced attempt to make them move. 'Hey, Heero! Let me go! I have to find 'Fei!' Or, that's what I *TRIED* to say, but my rough and dry throat didn't listen and I only ended up coughing. That round of coughing had me clinging to Heero and my IV stand for dear life as I tried to remain on my feet. I could hear Quatre scrambling towards me, and Trowa's soft monotone in the background, but I was too busy trying to stick my lungs back where they belonged to know what he was saying. The cool relief of ice chips on my lips was welcome and I greedily took the water to soothe my aching throat. It took a few more chips before I had stopped coughing and could release my death grip on one, Heero Yuy. 'Sorry, Man..' I would see the bruises later, I was sure, but right now, I only had one thing in mind. 'Where...where's 'Fei?' I tried to fix Heero with a death glare, but considering the circumstances, it was like trying to glare down a puppy - wasn't going to work..they'd just lick your face..

'Right here...' I whipped my head around at that familiar voice and could see the owner of it standing in the doorway of the hospital room with a few bags in his hands. Takeout? I would have made a quip about it, but I was too intent on actually getting to the Chinese man, that I was speechless for the moment. One track mind, what can I say? Heero did his best to help me take a few mincing steps towards Wufei, who hurriedly passed the takeout bags to Trowa. I didn't see what happened to them, or where they went.. I didn't care. The moment his hands were free, Wufei was next to me and his arms were replacing Heeros as he scooped me into a damn carry that grooms would give their brides.. You know the one.. carrying over the threshold and everything? All we were missing was the - There it is. I wrapped my arms around Wufei's neck as tightly as I dared and returned the kiss he so willingly bestowed on me. When we pulled back, I could only beam when he spoke two words, and those two words made my soul fly. 'Welcome Back.'

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Phew.. There it is everyone! I ...hope this brings a few things into a more conclusive ending? :) -smiles fondly at the story- I .. really do enjoy the ending of this one. -turns and walks off stage, allowing the characters their time alone-


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